The Japan men's national volleyball team (), also referred to as Ryujin Nippon (Japanese: 龍神ニッポン; Lit. trans: Dragon God of Japan) or simply Nippon, represents Japan in international volleyball competitions and friendly matches, governed by Japan Volleyball Association. As of September 2024, the team is ranked sixth in the FIVB Senior World Rankings, with their peak coming at second place prior to the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Japan first won a bronze medal at the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games, followed by silver at Mexico 1968 and a gold at Munich 1972. In the years that followed, Japan has been unsuccessful and missed three successive Olympic Games before returning at Beijing 2008, where they failed to win a match. Japan then failed to qualify for London 2012 and Rio 2016. At the FIVB World Championship, Japan has won bronze medals in 1970 and 1974, as well as silver medals at the 1969 and 1977 FIVB World Cup.
At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Japan advanced to the Quarterfinals round and eventually finished in seventh place, its best result since the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. As of the last 3 years, the team has been successful in the world leagues as they have achieved both bronze and silver medals at the 2023 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League and the 2024 edition, respectively. These results have been the nation's best since the tournament's creation in 2017.
Medals EventGoldSilverBronzeTotal Olympic Games 1 1 1 3 World Championship 0 0 2 2 World Cup 0 3 0 3 World Grand Champions Cup 0 0 1 1 Nations League 0 1 1 2 Asian Games 8 2 3 13 Asian Championship 10 4 4 18 Asian Cup 0 1 3 4 Eastern Asian Championship 6 0 4 10 Universiade 3 3 4 10 Goodwill Games 0 0 1 1 Total 28 15 23 66
Competitive records
Olympic Games Champions Runners-up 3rd place 4th place
Olympic Games recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition 1964Round robin3rd9722212Qualified as host 1968Round robin2nd972246Unknown asian qualifier 1972Final1st7702131970 World Championship 1976Semifinals4th52389Qualified as defending champions 1980Did not participate due to US-led boycott41389 1984Preliminary round7th6421381983 Asian Championship 1988Preliminary round10th72510171987 Asian Championship 1992Preliminary round6th83513201991 Asian Championship 1996Did not qualify9541914 2000642129 20047251415 2008Preliminary round11th505415761207 2012Did not qualify7431312 2016725816 2020Quarterfinals7th6331012Qualified as host 2024Quarterfinals7th413810752198 2028Qualified2026 AVC Continental Championship 2032To be determinedTo be determined Total 1 Title 10/17 —
World Cup Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
World Cup recordYearRoundPosition 1949did not participate 1952 1956 1960Final Group8th927821 1962Final Group5th9542120 1966Group Round5th7431717 1970Semifinals3rd1192308 1974Semifinals3rd11922813 1978Second round11th9541915 1982Semifinals4th9722210 1986Second round10th927923 1990First round11th41339 1994Last 169th413411 1998Preliminary round15th10281524 2002Second round9th6241115 20065th–8th semifinals8th1477230 2010Second round13th514514 2014did not qualify 2018First round17th523811 2022Round of 1612th42287 2025Preliminary round23rd31236 2027Qualified 2029Future eventTotal 0 Title17/21—
World Cup (1965–2019) Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
World Cup (1965–2019) record (Defunct)YearRoundPosition 1965 Semifinals 4th 7 3 4 13 17 1969 Final 2nd 8 6 2 20 12 1977 Final 2nd 8 5 3 19 14 1981 Second round 6th 7 2 5 12 15 1985 Seventh round 6th 7 2 5 9 15 1989 Seventh round 6th 7 2 5 10 16 1991 Matches for places 1-6 4th 5 1 4 7 13 1995 Fourth round 5th 11 7 4 21 13 1999 Fourth round 10th 11 3 8 16 27 2003 Fourth round 9th 11 3 8 14 27 2007 Fourth round 9th 11 3 8 14 26 2011 Fourth round 10th 11 2 9 12 28 2015 Third round 6th 11 5 6 21 21 2019 Round robin 4th 11 8 3 26 16 Total 0 Title 15/15 133 57 76 233 268 —
World Grand Champions Cup Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
World Grand Champions record (Defunct)YearRoundPositionSquad 1993Round Robin 4th 5 2 3 9 10 1997Round Robin 5th 5 1 4 8 12 2001Round Robin 5th 5 1 4 4 14 2005Round Robin 4th 5 2 3 8 13 2009Round Robin3rd 5 3 2 9 11 2013Round Robin 6th 5 0 5 1 15 2017Round Robin 6th 5 0 5 2 15 Total 0 Titles 7/7 35 9 26 41 90 —
World League Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
World League record (Defunct)YearRoundPosition 1990 Intercontinental round 6th 12 5 7 16 23 1991Intercontinental Round 7th 16 5 11 22 38 1992 Intercontinental Round 10th 12 2 10 13 31 1993 Intercontinental Round 6th 20 10 10 36 41 1994 Intercontinental Round 8th 12 4 8 16 26 1995 Intercontinental Round 8th 12 4 8 18 27 1996 Intercontinental Round 9th 12 3 9 16 31 1997Intercontinental Round 12th 12 0 12 3 36 1998did not participate 1999 2000 2001 Intercontinental Round 9th 12 3 9 15 28 2002 Intercontinental Round 13th 12 1 11 11 34 2003 Intercontinental Round 13th 12 3 9 16 31 2004 Intercontinental Round 10th 12 0 12 8 36 2005 Intercontinental Round 10th 12 2 10 9 32 2006 Intercontinental Round 13th 12 1 11 11 33 2007 Intercontinental Round 13th 12 3 9 17 32 2008 Pool play 6th 14 5 9 22 34 2009 Intercontinental Round 15th 12 3 9 13 31 2010 did not qualify 2011 Intercontinental Round 15th 12 1 11 10 35 2012 Intercontinental Round 15th 12 0 12 11 36 2013 Intercontinental Round 18th 10 3 7 16 25 2014 Intercontinental Round 19th 12 1 11 8 35 2015 Intercontinental Round 13th 12 5 7 19 23 2016 Intercontinental Round 24th 9 2 7 14 21 2017 Group Final Round 14th 11 6 5 24 23 Total 0 Titles 24/28 296 72 224 364 742 —
Nations League Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Nations League record YearRoundPosition 2018 Preliminary round 12th 15 6 9 23 37 2019 Preliminary round 10th 15 7 8 27 32 2021 Preliminary round 11th 15 7 8 25 31 2022 Quarterfinals 5th 13 9 4 29 21 2023 Semifinals Third place 15 12 3 38 21 2024 Final Runners-up 15 11 4 37 20 2025 Quarterfinals 6th 13 8 5 27 20 2026 Semifinals 4th 15 13 2 42 22Total 0 Titles 8/8 —
AVC Continental Championship Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
AVC Continental Championship record YearRoundPosition 1975 Final 1st 6 6 0 18 1 1979 Championship round 3rd 5 3 2 12 6 1983 Final 1st 7 7 0 21 4 1987 Final 1st 8 8 0 N/A N/A 1989 Final 2nd 8 7 1 21 3 1991 Final 1st 7 7 0 21 3 1993 Semifinals 3rd 6 5 1 15 3 1995 Final 1st 5 5 0 N/A N/A 1997 Final 2nd 5 4 1 13 4 1999 Championship round 4th 7 5 2 16 9 2001 Semifinals 3rd 6 5 1 15 6 2003 Quarterfinals 7th 7 4 3 15 10 2005 Final 1st 8 7 1 23 6 2007 Final 2nd 7 5 2 17 7 2009 Final 1st 7 7 0 21 4 2011 Quarterfinals 5th 8 5 3 18 13 2013 Semifinals 4th 7 4 3 14 9 2015 Final 1st 8 5 3 19 14 2017 Final 1st 8 7 1 23 4 2019 Semifinals 3rd 8 6 2 22 9 2021 Final 2nd 8 6 2 19 8 2023 Final 1st 5 5 0 15 1 2026 Final 1st 6 6 0 18 1 Total 11 Titles 23/23 —
Asian Games Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Asian Games record YearRoundPosition 1958 Final 1st 4 4 0 12 2 1962 Final 1st 7 7 0 21 4 1966 Final 1st 8 8 0 26 0 1970 Final 1st 7 7 0 21 0 1974 Final 1st 5 5 0 15 1 1978 Final 2nd 9 8 1 24 4 1982 Final 1st 6 6 0 18 1 1986 Final Round 4th 8 4 4 22 9 1990 Semifinals 3rd 5 3 2 11 6 1994 Final 1st 5 4 1 13 5 1998 Final Round 4th 6 3 3 13 9 2002 Semifinals 3rd 5 3 2 10 10 2006 Quarterfinals 5th 3 2 1 6 5 2010 Final 1st 10 8 2 27 9 2014 Final 2nd 9 8 1 25 8 2018 Quarterfinals 5th 5 4 1 14 10 2022 Semifinals 3rd 7 6 1 18 4 2026Qualified as host Total 8 Titles 17/17 —
AVC Cup for Men Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
AVC Cup for Men record (Defunct)YearRoundPosition 2008 Semifinals 4th 6 4 2 13 11 2010 Quarterfinals 8th 6 0 6 4 18 2012 Semifinals 3rd 6 5 1 15 4 2014 Quarterfinals 6th 6 1 5 5 17 2016 Semifinals 3rd 6 3 3 13 11 2018 Semifinals 3rd 5 2 3 10 12 2022 Final 2nd 6 4 2 14 6 Total 0 Titles 7/7 41 19 22 74 79 —
Goodwill Games Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Goodwill Games record YearRoundPosition 1986 Semifinals 3rd place N/A 1990 did not participate Total 0 Titles 1/2 —
2026 Results and fixtures # Opponent Date Result Host city Tournament110 Jun3–0 (25–22, 25–21, 25–22) Linyi2026 Nations League212 Jun3–2 (25–21, 21–25, 25–21, 22–25, 17–15)313 Jun3–1 (25–23, 25–22, 20–25, 25–21) 414 Jun3–1 (25–27, 25–16, 25–22, 25–22) 524 Jun3–1 (25–17, 25–15, 22–25, 25–16) Orléans626 Jun3–2 (25–19, 25–19, 20–25, 23–25, 15–12)727 Jun3–2 (18–25, 25–21, 20–25, 25–22, 15–13)828 Jun3–2 (28–30, 19–25, 25–17, 35–33, 15–12)915 Jul 3–2 (24–26, 25–19, 25–20, 23–25, 15–12) Osaka1016 Jul 3–2 (18–25, 24–26, 29–27, 25–19, 15–12)1117 Jul 3–0 (25–20, 25–22, 25–16)1219 Jul 3–0 (25–22, 25–22, 25–16)1329 Jul3–1 (23–25, 25–23, 25–16, 25–23) Ningbo141 Aug 2–3 (19–25, 25–23, 25–20, 19–25, 13-15)152 Aug 1–3 (21–25, 28–26, 22–25, 22–25)163 Oct1–3 (26–28, 25–19, 21–25, 24–26) Nagoya 2026 Asian GamesHead coach: Laurent Tillie
Team Current squad The following is the Japanese wide roster for the 2026 season (announced April 17, 2026).
Head coach: Laurent Tillie
1 Yuji Nishida 2 Taishi Onodera 3 Hideomi Fukatsu 4 Kento Miyaura 5 Tatsunori Otsuka 6 Akihiro Yamauchi 7 Yudai Arai 8 Masahiro Sekita 9 Yudai Kawahigashi 10 Kentaro Takahashi 11 Shoma Tomita 12 Ran Takahashi 13 Tomohiro Ogawa 14 Yūki Ishikawa 15 Kai Masato 16 Go Murayama 17 Keigo Nishimoto 18 Hiroto Nishiyama 19 Kazuma Sonae 20 Tomohiro Yamamoto 21 Motoki Eiro 22 Alain De Armas 23 Larry Evbade-Dan 24 Keihan Takahashi 25 Ryo Shimokawa 26 Rikuto Goto 27 Taishu Takeda 28 Kento Asano 29 Hiromasa Miwa 30 Keitaro Nishikawa 31 Yuji Kudo 33 Takuma Kawano 34 Ren Ichinose 35 Riku Ito 36 Daiki Yamada 37 Kazuyuki Takahashi
The following is the Japanese wide roster for the 2026 Volleyball Nations League.
Head coach: Laurent Tillie
No.NameDate of birthHeightWeightSpikeBlock2026–27 club Osaka Bluteon Suntory Sunbirds Wolfdogs Nagoya Wolfdogs Nagoya Power Volley Milano Osaka Bluteon JTEKT Stings Osaka Bluteon LKPS Lublin LKPS Lublin (c) Ziraat Bankkart Osaka Bluteon Hiroshima Thunders Osaka Bluteon Hiroshima Thunders Osaka Bluteon
The following is the Japanese wide roster for the 2026 AVC Men's Volleyball Continental Championship (announced September 3, 2026).
Head coach: Laurent Tillie
No.NameDate of birthHeightWeightSpikeBlock2026–27 club Osaka Bluteon Suntory Sunbirds Wolfdogs Nagoya Wolfdogs Nagoya Power Volley Milano Osaka Bluteon - JTEKT Stings Osaka Bluteon LKPS Lublin LKPS Lublin (c) Ziraat Bankkart Hiroshima Thunders Osaka Bluteon Osaka Bluteon
The following is the Japanese roster for the 2026 Asian Games (announced July 31, 2026).
Head coach: Laurent Tillie
No.NameDate of birthHeightWeightSpikeBlock2026–27 club Power Volley Milano (c) Hiroshima Thunders - JTEKT Stings Osaka Bluteon Hiroshima Thunders Osaka Bluteon JTEKT Stings Suntory Sunbirds Tokyo Great Bears - Waseda University - Osaka Bluteon JTEKT Stings
Former squads
2011 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster Daisuke Usami (c), Yuta Abe, , Shogo Okamoto, , Takahiro Yamamoto, Yuya Ageba, Yusuke Ishijima, Yu Koshikawa, Yuta Yoneyama, Seima Kanda, Tatsuya Fukuzawa, Kunihiro Shimizu, , Daisuke Yako, Kota Yamamura, Takashi Dekita, Yamato Fushimi, Osamu Tanabe, Daisuke Sakai, Takeshi Nagano, Takeshi Kitajima, Kazuyoshi Yokota, and Masashi Kuriyama. Head Coach: Tatsuya Ueta.
2012 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster Daisuke Sakai, Yuta Abe, Takeshi Nagano, Yusuke Matsuta, Daisuke Usami, Yoshifumi Suzuki, Takahiro Yamamoto, Yuya Ageba, Takaaki Tomimatsu, Osamu Tanabe, Yoshihiko Matsumoto, Kota Yamamura, Tatsuya Fukuzawa, Kunihiro Shimizu, Daisuke Yako, Yusuke Ishijima, Yu Koshikawa, Yuta Yoneyama, Akira Koshiya, Ayumu Shinoda, Shigeru Kondoh, , Yuji Suzuki, , Dai Tezuka, Takashi Dekita and Kazuyoshi Yokota. Head Coach: Tatsuya Ueta.
2013 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster